Once Teja and I were drunk and stoned. There was a single bulb in the corner of the TT room at tbe boys hostel. It was so dim that you saw the ball only after it had travelled about half the length of the TT table, towards you. Before that you did see the hand and body movement of the opponent on the other side of the table as he hit the ball, you heard its impact on his racquet and you could guess the trajectory of the ball before it actually came into view. I remember starting to prepare for the shot I'd decided to play before I actually saw the ball.

It was a great game of TT - with good fast rallies. The drunken abandon helped to alleviate all tension (that I normally bring to anything!) and who knows, maybe the grass helped us focus (though I think that's a stretch!)

Obviously we weren't playing to win. I had a blast and once I got the hang of the circumstances, I think I played as good TT as I ever have.

Anyway, TT and reading are pretty far apart but as soon as I finished reading your post I remembered the TT game.